Australia’s Rooftop PV Rebound Drives Battery Registrations To 1.2 GWh

Australia's Residential Storage Demand Hits Record High; Rooftop PV Rebound Drives Battery Registrations to 1.2 GWh

 

 

 

The Australian federal government's subsidy scheme for affordable home energy storage batteries north east is set to undergo changes, a factor that drove a surge in battery market demand in February. Warwick Johnston, Managing Director of SunWiz, stated that the pressure to complete installations before the subsidy changes take effect on May 1st resulted in record-breaking registration volumes for the month. In February, a record 1.2 GWh of small-scale energy storage capacity was registered-a 24% increase compared to January 2026. Battery registrations rose across all states, with Tasmania leading the pack with a 58% increase. Installations showed a preference for larger-capacity batteries-with products in the 40 kWh to 50 kWh range proving most popular-pushing the market's average battery capacity up to 10.34 kW.

 

The latest monthly update from solar research firm SunWiz reveals that in February 2026, 281 MW of new small-scale rooftop PV capacity was registered nationwide in Australia-an increase of 57 MW over the 224 MW registered the previous month. Johnston noted that this represents the highest total ever recorded for the month of February, and the year-to-date figures stand 6% higher than those from the same period last year. PV installation volumes recorded significant growth across all states in February; the Northern Territory led the way with a 73% increase, while New South Wales, Queensland, and Tasmania all saw growth exceeding 30%.

 

Against this backdrop, growing attention is being paid to battery energy storage systems bess compliance, distributed energy resources battery storage, and developments in the electrochemical energy storage battery material market. Industry players such as BLOO POWER are actively contributing to these areas as the sector matures. Johnston observed that the trend of month-over-month growth in the average capacity of market-installed batteries-a trend observed since batteries first became eligible for Small-scale Technology Certificates-slowed slightly in February, though the growth trajectory remains intact.

 

PV installation volumes staged a strong rebound in February, setting a new historical record for the month-slightly surpassing the previous high set in February 2021. This continues the pattern seen at the start of 2026: a period characterized by some market volatility, yet sustained strong demand-even as the market shows signs of maturity and the industry as a whole shifts toward batteries and larger system configurations. Thus far this year, two months have already seen installation levels and scales surpassing those of the corresponding periods in previous years; this may signal an optimistic outlook for 2026, with the long-term trend line expected to turn upward later this year.